Mike Cheng-Yu Lee

On Friday November 20, 2015 I attended a guest recital performed by Mike Cheng-Yu Lee. He performed four piano sonatas by Mozart. Mr. Lee performed his recital at both Indiana and Cornell University.  The recital took place at the Moore building in Watkins lecture hall all four of the pieces he played were breathtaking and it w very clear that he was invested in every not he played of his music.The first piece that was played was Mozart’s sonata I d major. As soon as the pianist started to play the piece the audience was taken away by his talent. The piece was very up beat and had lots of spirt in the rhythm. It was a rondo: allegro and gave of a high spirited sense of emotion to myself and many other members in the audience. The fast movement of his fingers looked as if he was just shooting lasers out the tips of his fingers. The sudden stab of louder chords throughout the piece added even more suspense to the upbeat piece it was nice to see how lost Lee got into his performance. You could tell by the very first phrase that he played that he was in complete bliss. 

tackas string quartet

On December second I attended the lie performance of takas string quartet at the Rackham Theater. In the days leading up to this concert I found myself growing with excitement. It was the first time that attended a string instrument performance live. Growing up as a dancer I was always rather fond of the cello, viola, and violin. The sound each of them make, create the dense feeling of compassion, and I always found it reliving to be able to combine it with my dancing. I was excited to see how they created their movement and even more excited to see how they connected with it.

            The Rackham theater is an auditorium located behind the hill auditorium. Although the theater is not as large as the other performance venues like power center or hill auditorium, It was just as nice. The venue was surrounded with artifacts that looked like they were from the ancient roman era. When you walk in the theater you could see that it was structured like a coliseum. There were pillars around the back of the auditorium separating the sections of seats. The stage was somewhat of a semi-circle that was carved out of the wall the way that The stage was set up made it easy for every member of the audience to see the performers. What I found even more interesting was that the performers were able to look at he celling when they were on stage. The celling was enchanted with moon and tar patterns. The paintings that covered the entire span of the top wall were hypnotizing. I found myself staring at it for a solid fifteen minutes before the performance started. I was lost in the artistry of the paintings and when the performance started I became lost in their music.

            The quartet performed many pieces. They all meet a modern contemporary sound. You can see by the way they played each note that it sparked satisfaction through their bodies. The first piece they played was very diverse in harmony and rhythm. The cellist would mimic the viola in perfect unison but would do it at a slightly lower pitch, preventing it from drowning out the sound of the other instrument. This music was enchanting, it matched the feeling the venue and the artists gave off. 

Sarah Blog Post #7

Looking back on my first semester in college and LHSP, so much has happened that I had no idea was coming. I thought I was ready to handle anything college could throw at me, since I went to boarding school for six years (and I've went to sleep-away camp and studied abroad a few times). I knew that I could handle missing my family and my home, but getting used to a new environment has its challenges every time, no matter how prepared you are, because every new environment has different people. As I've learned this semester at Michigan, every environment is composed of different classes and activities, and has a unique spirit, and that's what will make it important to you, and eventually make it your home. I like to say sometimes that I don't get nervous, I just have "logical concerns". This is mostly due to fact that I really only actually get nervous doing something for the very first time, so unless you see me doing something new, it seems like I don't get nervous. I definitely was nervous starting this semester, but am excited to start next semester with only a few "logical concerns". At the same time, I can't wait to push myself to try even more new things during my experience at Michigan.

End of Semester Sayonara

When I elected to be in the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  The idea of having a class in my dorm seemed intriguing but I didn't expect it to be a completely different environment than all my other classes.  I really enjoyed this semester discussing writing and seeing with everyone, I think each of you challenged me at least once to think in a new way or explain my ideas in more detail.  The variety of perspectives the group was capable of offering made the class an amazing environment to be in, and made me increasingly curious what it would be like to live all over the country and even world!  My style of writing has changed immensely over the course of the semester, and I'd like to think how I see the world has been broadened.  It was interesting learning as a group how the two actions are impeccably intertwined and challenging ourselves to acknowledge who we are in the context of the world.  I hope you all have many more adventures and discoveries in your final semester of freshman year! :)

Lovely Spring Weather We're Having This Winter

As much as I hate Michigan's freezing winters, I must say this 60 degree weather in December is frightening. I didn't even wear a coat today, that's not suppose to happen!! What kind of freak shit is our planet going through? No but seriously, something has to be wrong. Going from record snowfall and low temperature to record high December temperatures in two years time cannot be a good thing. The theories currently don't sound good. I've heard people say that our seasons are switching so that it's cold in the sunmer and hot in the winter. I've heard that the weather patterns of the north were switching to that of the south and vice versa. Whatever will happen there is no doubt our planet is telling us we have to change. If the weather patterns continue to change so rapidly our crops won't grow or the yields will reduce greatly. This weather is nice, but it's the scariest thing I've seen in a long time.
p.s Michigan is petty because the one day it did snow I had to cancel my trip to MSU to  hang out with my cousins

Yuxin Xuan Blog 7

Looking back through the whole semester, I feel that I have gained a lot of essential knowledge and useful experience. In my studio classes, I learned how to consider composition, lines and weight and so on as a whole and draw an impressive painting, how to make 3D projects with different materials like clay and wood, how to use simple elements to create a design that conveys the meaning or feeling that you want viewers to get...In the writing class, I had the chance to improve my writing skills and see many others' nice works. I am still exploring how to write specifically because sometimes I may forget the readers' feelings and continue typing to the end. Anyway, after I read the DSP essay, I felt I did improve a lot in writing. I will take LHSP230 next semester and I hope I can do even better in this upper-level writing class.
Also, as an international student, I am happy to say that I have conquered homesick and the feeling of unfamiliarity. Now I know this place better, have many new friends and chat online with my family regularly. I will keep optimistic and productive and prepare for the challenges in the future.

Yuxin Xuan Blog 6

When thinking of personal and social identities, I feel that sometimes differences in identities can bring people closer instead of separating them. It is true that similar people tend be good friends, but those with quite different identities and personalities can still attract each other. I can always see cross-age friends, for instance, an elderly and a youth playing chess around the corner of a street. When traveling in California, I also met a 9-year-old Beijing girl with whom I became good friend. Sherlock and Watson came from different backgrounds and have different specialities and experience. Still, they became equal partners and trustworthy companions and investigated complicated cases together. In fact, the differences contributed to their firm friendship and successful cooperation. Sherlock had extraordinary intelligence while Watson could understand social occasions better. Therefore, the relationship between human beings is not like the character of magnets(opposite poles attract and like poles repel each other) or otherwise. It is more complex and there is no definite answer or agreement. Whether similar or different, people all have chances to become good friends or soulmates.